IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


I 


1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


isi.    |32 


1.4 


M 

IIIM 

1.6 


V 


<^ 


/^ 


^^'^^'^^■ 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  MS80 

(716)  872-4503 


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V 


iV 


^^ 


\\ 


lV 


^ 


<^ 


6^ 


<> 


'^<h^ 


%^ 


I 


% 


c^- 


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i 


CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICMH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  Instltut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 

1980 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


n 
n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 

Covers  damaged/ 
Couverture  endommagie 

Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur6e  et/ou  pellicul6e 

Cover  title  missing/ 

Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


D 


Cartes  g6ographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


r~~|    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


D 
D 


D 


D 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
ReWi  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  retiure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  intdrieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajouties 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  M  filmAes 

Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  supplimentaires; 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  le  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  exemplaire  qui  sont  peut-Atre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mdthode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiqu6s  ci-dessous. 


n 

D 

0 

D 

n 

D 
D 

n 


Coloured  pages/ 
Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endcmmagdes 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul^es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  ddcolordes,  tachetdes  ou  piqu^es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d^tachdes 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 

Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Quality  inigale  de  I'impression 

Includes  supplementary  material/ 
Comprend  du  materiel  suppl^mentaire 

Only  edition  available/ 
Seule  Edition  disponible 

Pages  who!ly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t^  film6es  A  nouveau  de  fapon  d 
obtenir  la  mailleure  image  possible. 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  filmi  au  taux  de  reduction  indiquA  ci-dessous. 


10X 


14X 


18X 


22X 


26X 


MX 


7 


12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


ails 

du 

difier 

jne 

lage 


Tha  copy  filmed  hare  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Librviy  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  in  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


L'exemplaire  filmA  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
ginArositA  da: 

Library  Division 

Provincial  Archives  of  British  Columbia 

Les  images  suivantes  ont  AtA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  at 
de  la  nettetA  de  l'exemplaire  filmA,  at  en 
conformity  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
s'on,  or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


Les  exemplaires  originaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  imprimAe  sont  filmAs  en  commenpant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  terminant  soit  par  la 
derniAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmAs  en  commenpant  par  la 
premiere  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernidre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  -^  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED'),  or  the  symbol  V  (meaning   "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaitra  sur  la 
dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbole  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE  ",  le 
symbole  V  signifie  "FIN". 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc.,  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tibleaux,  etc.,  peuvont  dtre 
film^s  d  des  taux  de  reduction  diffdrents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  dtre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  film6  A  partir 
de  Tangle  supdrieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  ndcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
ill^'trent  la  mdthode. 


rata 

3 


elure. 


J 


32X 


1     ;1 

s 

1;      S  ^ 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

13  tl 


C()iii]-,liiiH"iiti;  ot  FitANZ  Boas. 


liJ.{  W  .St  82ii<l  Str.ct, 


N«'w  York  Citv. 


13  61 


7 


'  C  I  u 


Traditions  of  the  Tsets  a  ut.  257 


TRADITIONS   OF  THE  TS'ETS'A'UT.» 

I. 

In  the  winter  of  1894-95  I  visited  Portland  Inlet,  a  deep  fjord 
whic'i  forms  the  boundary  between  Alaska  and  British  Columbia. 
In  this  region  were  said  to  live  the  few  remaining  members  of  a 
tribe  which  had  not  heretofore  been  studied.  The  tribe  is  called 
Ts'Ets'fi'ut  by  the  Tsimshian  and  by  the  Nass  River  Indians.  After 
a  prolonged  search  I  found  a  few  members  of  the  tribe,  which 
proved  to  belong  to  the  Tinneh  stock.  Such  ethnological  data  as  I 
have  been  able  to  obtain  are  given  in  the  Tenth  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Northwestern  Tribes  of  Canada,  under  whose  auspices 
I  visited  the  tribe  {B.  A.  A.  S.  1895).  In  the  following  pages  I 
give  such  traditions  as  I  have  been  able  to  collect.  As  the  tribe  is 
reduced  to  twelve  members,  it  is  not  likely  that  much  more  material 
will  ever  be  obtained.  The  traditions-  resemble  in  character  very 
much  those  recorded  by  E.  Petitot  from  the  Tinneh  tribes  of  the 
Mackenzie  Basin,  but  they  evidently  have  been  greatly  influenced 
by  Tlingit  tales,  as  will  be  shown  in  accompanying  notes. 

I.    BROTHER    AND    SISTER. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  were  four  brothers  and  a  sister  whose 
parents  had  died.  One  day  they  went  up  Tcu'nax  River  until 
they  reached  its  headwaters,  which  are  called  xaga.  There  they 
stayed  hunting  the  mountain  goat.  The  eldest  of  the  brothers  had 
fallen  in  love  with  his  sister,  who  returned  his  affection.  Then  the 
other  brothers  grew  ashamed.  They  tied  the  two  together  with 
cedar-withes,  so  that  the  man's  head  was  between  the  feet  of  the 
woman,  while  her  head  was  between  the  man's  feet,  and  thus  left 
them.  Tlie  eldest  brother,  however,  was  so  strong  that  he  tore 
apart  his  bonds,  and  liberated  himself  and  his  sister.  He  fo'  i  a 
cave,  which  they  used  as  a  dwelling-place.  After  some  time  his 
sister  gave  birth  to  a  boy.  One  day,  when  she  left  the  house,  she 
saw  many  mountain  goats  grazing  on  the  hill  opposite.  She  ran 
back  into  the  cave,  and  called  her  brother:  "Come  and  look  at  the 
mountain  goats."     He  went  out  and  looked  at  them.     On  this,  they 

'  Indian  words  are  to  be  pronounced  as  follows :  — 

The  vowL'l.s  Iiave  tlieir  continental  sounds,  namely:  a  Zism  father ;  ^  like  a  in 
mate  ;  i  as  in  viachine  ;  o  as  in  note ;  u  as  in  ntte. 

In  addition  tlie  folJowinij  are  used  :  a,  o  as  in  (German  ;  h=aw  in  litw;  /  as  in 
tell ;  t  as  in  liil/ ;  o  as  in  (lerman  toIIj  k  —  e  '\nflo7ver  (Lepsius's  §). 

AiTiony;  tlie  consonants  the  following  additional  letters  have  been  used :  q  velar 
k ;  X  the  (lerman  ch  in  Bach;  x'  the  German  ch  in  ich;  X  between  4*  and  jr ; 
c=sh  in  shore ;  L  an  explosive,  dorso-apicai  /;  '  a  pause. 

VOL.  IX.  —  NO.  35.  17 


23[{IS8 


258 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


fell  dead  and  rolled  down  the  mountain  towards  the  cave.  He  had 
attained  supernatural  powers.  His  gaze  killed  whomever  and  what- 
ever he  looked  at.  Then  he  said  to  his  wife  :  "  Go  and  gather 
stones,  with  which  to  skin  the  goats."  She  -vent  down  to  the  river, 
and  gathered  many  thin  pebbles.  When  she  had  brought  them  to 
the  cave,  her  husband  was  not  satisfied  with  them.  He  himself 
went  to  tbo'  river,  and  found  many  new  stone  knives  and  axes. 
These  he  carried  to  the  cave,  and  he  and  his  wife  began  to  skin  the 
goats.  But  they  did  not  cut  open  their  bellies  and  strip  off  the 
skin,  as  it  is  the  custom  to  do  :  they  cut  the  feet,  and  skinned  them 
as  we  do  martens.  In  thib  manner  he  skinned  one  buck,  a  she  goat, 
and  a  kid,  and  father,  mother,  and  son  put  on  their  skins. 

Then  the  father  said  :  "  Now  I  will  go  down  the  river  and  build 
houses  for  our  use."  He  started,  and  after  he  had  gone  some  dis- 
tance he  made  a  natural  bridge  across  the  river,  and  many  caves  in 
the  sides  of  the  mountains.  Then  he  said  to  his  wife  :  "  Now  I  will 
make  the  sea.  The  ocean  shall  be  in  the  v.est,  the  land  shall  be  in 
the  east."  Thus  the  sea  was  created.  And  he  continued  :  "  I  will 
make  a  hole,  so  that  the  water  of  the  sea  may  run  down  through  it 
and  come  back  again.  Then  there  will  be  ebb-tide  and  flood-tide," 
But  his  wife  asked  him  :  "  Do  not  make  the  hole  here,  for  men  are 
living  near  by,  and  the  hole  might  swallow  them.  Make  it  far 
away  in  midocean." 

Henceforth  they  lived  under  the  bridge.  One  day  many  Ts'Ets'a'ut 
went  up  the  river  to  see  what  had  become  of  the  brother  and  sister 
who  had  been  left.  Among  the  travellers  were  the  brothers  of  the 
couple.  When  they  approached  the  headwaters  of  the  river,  they 
saw  the  natural  bridge,  and  the  caves  which  they  had  not  seen 
before.  The  kid  was  frolicking  under  the  bridge,  and  every  one  of 
its  steps  made  a  deep  impression  in  the  rock.  It  was  scared  when 
it  saw  the  people  and  jumped  back  into  the  cave  in  which  it  was 
living.  The  people  saw  a  glaring  light  coming  forth  from  the  cave. 
Then  the  mother  came  out,  to  see  what  had  frightened  the  kid. 
She  saw  the  people  sitting  on  their  knees,  and  wondering  at  the 
marvellous  changes  that  had  taken  place  on  the  river.  She  went 
back  and  told  her  husband  what  she  had  seen.  He  said  :  "  Among 
these  people  are  our  brothers  who  bound  us.  Let  us  kill  them  !  " 
His  wife  did  not  reply.  Then  he  stepped  out  of  the  cave,  and  when 
he  looked  at  the  people  they  all  died.  One  woman  only  had  hidden 
herself.  She  was  saved.  The  natural  bridge  where  these  events 
took  place  is  called  TsenC'niaga. 

Then  the  husband  and  his  wife  separated.  She  went  up  the  river. 
When  she  arrived  at  its  source,  she  made  a  rock  resembling  her  in 
shape.     It  may  be  seen   up  to  this  day.     It  looks  like  a  woman 


Traditions  of  the  Tsetsaut. 


259 


carrying  a  babe  on  her  back.  She  went  on  to  the  headwaters  of 
Nass  River,  where  she  continues  to  live  on  the  bank  of  a  lake  up  to 
this  day. 

The  man  went  down  the  river,  and  wherever  he  camped  he  made 
rocks  of  curious  shape  as  marks  of  his  presence.  Now  his  name 
was  Qfi,  the  raven.  The  Tlingit  call  him  Ycl.  Among  others  he 
made  two  rocks  which  look  like  men  with  arms.  One  of  these  has 
fallen  over,  while  the  other  one  is  still  standing.  Its  name  is  SaqL 
(the  same  in  Tlingit).  He  wandered  all  through  the  world.  Finally 
he  travelled  westward. 

At  that  time  the  sea  was  always  high.  In  the  middle  of  the  world 
he  discovered  a  rock  in  the  sea.  lie  built  a  house  under  the  rock, 
made  a  hole  through  the  earth,  and  a  lid  which  fitted  it.  He  put  a 
man  in  charge  of  the  hole,  who  opened  the  lid  twice  a  day  and  twice 
a  day  closed  it.  When  the  hole  is  open,  the  water  rushes  down 
through  it  into  the  depth,  and  it  is  ebb  ;  when  the  lid  is  put  on,  the 
water  rises  again,  and  it  is  flood.  Tii'eL,  a  Tlingit  chief,  when  hunt- 
ing sea  otters,  was  taken  out  to  the  rock  by  the  tide.  The  current 
was  so  strong  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  escape.  When  he 
was  drawn  towards  the  rock,  he  saw  a  few  small  trees  growing  on  it. 
He  managed  to  throw  his  canoc-line  over  one  of  the  trees  and  thus 
succeeded  in  escaping  from  the  whirlpool.  After  some  time  he 
heard  a  noise  which  was  produced  by  the  closing  of  the  hole.  Then 
the  water  began  to  rise,  and  he  paddled  away  as  fast  as  he  could. 
Before  the  ebb  began,  he  pulled  his  canoe  on  to  a  rock,  and  when 
the  flood  set  in  again  continued  his  homeward  journey.  Finally  he 
reached  his  home  in  safety. 

The  preceding  tale  is  related  to  two  distinct  Tlingit  traditions  : 
The  tale  of  the  origin  of  the  earthquake  (sec  Krause,  "  Die  Tlingit 
Indianer,"  p.  270),  which  tells  of  a  brother  and  sister  who  fell  in 
love  with  one  another  and  became  supernatural  beings,  and  the 
Raven  Legend,  particularly  the  last  part ;  the  origin  of  the  tides  is 
taken  bodily  from  the  tales  of  Ycl  and  Qanuk  (see  Krause,  /.  c.  p. 
259,  and  Boas,  "  Sagen  der  Indianer  der  Nordpacifischen  Kiiste 
Amerikas,"  p.  313). 


2.    THE    ORIGIN    OF    MOUNTAINS. 

A  woman  had  two  sons.  She  died,  and  her  sister  took  charge  of 
the  boys.  When  they  had  grown  up,  they  built  their  huts  ne.xt  to 
that  of  their  aunt.  One  day  the  latter  saw  that  each  of  the  young 
men  had  a  wife.  She  did  not  know  whence  they  had  come.  I  sup- 
pose the  women  were  animals  who  had  taken  the  shape  of  men. 
Once  upon  a  time,  tl  e  men  went  hunting.     When  going  up  the  hill, 


26o 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


they  saw  a  large  bag  hanging  from  the  branch  of  a  tree.  They  cut 
it  open.  A  large  man  fell  out  of  it,  whom  the  men  killed  with 
their  clubs.  He  had  an  immense  mcmbnivi  virile,  which  they 
cut  off  and  took  home.  Then  they  chopped  it,  nii.xcd  it  with  caribou 
meat,  and  boiled  it.  The  women  had  gone  up  the  mountains  to 
bring  home  meat  that  their  husbands  had  hidden  in  a  cache.  When 
they  came  home,  their  husbands  gave  thcin  of  the  dish  they  had 
boiled.  The  women  ate  heartily.  After  a  while  the  men  took  a 
stomach  of  a  caribou,  left  their  home,  and  when  they  had  gone  a 
short  distance  they  shouted  :  "  Our  wives  have  eaten  the  mcuibrum 
virile  of  their  sweetheart."  When  the  women  heard  this,  they  ran 
to  look  after  the  bag  in  which  the  man  had  been  hidden.  When 
they  found  the  mutilated  body,  they  took  tlieir  clubs  and  pursued 
their  husbands.  When  they  drew  near,  the  men  threw  part  of  the 
contents  of  the  caribou  stomach  over  their  shoulders.  It  was  trans- 
formed into  valleys  and  cafions,  which  obstructed  the  progress  of 
the  women.  While  fleeing  fr.^n  their  wives,  the  men  came  to  the 
monster  adEda,  which  looks  like  a  bear  with  huge  claws  and  horns. 
They  said  :  "  Please,  protect  us.  We  are  fleeing  from  our  large 
wives."  The  adnda  asked  them  to  stand  behind  it,  but  when  the 
women  reached  it  they  killed  it  with  their  clubs.  The  brothers  ran 
on,  and  continued  to  throw  parts  of  the  caribou  stomach  in  the  way 
of  the  women.  After  some  time  they  reached  another  horned 
monster.  They  said  :  "  Please,  protect  us  !  We  are  fleeing  from 
our  large  wives."  The  monster  replied  :  "  I^idc  behind  my  body." 
Soon  the  women  approached  laughing.  Ti  ?y  struck  the  monster 
with  their  clubs  between  its  horns,  and  they  had  almost  killed  it. 
But  finally  it  gave  a  jump,  gored  the  women,  aud  threw  them  about 
until  they  were  dead.  The  head  of  the  monster  was  full  of  blood, 
which  the  brothers  washed  off.  They  returned  home,  but  it  took 
them  a  long  time  to  cross  all  the  mountains  and  valleys  that  had 
originated  from  the  contents  of  the  caribou  stomach. 


dil 
of 


3.    THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    SEASONS    AND    OF    THE    MOUNTAINS. 

In  the  beginning  there  were  no  mountains.  The  earth  was  level, 
and  covered  with  grass  and  shrubs.  There  was  no  rain,  no  snow, 
and  no  wind.  The  sun  was  shining  all  the  time.  Men  and  animals 
were  not  distinct  yet.  They  were  in  dire  distre<=.5.  They  had  little 
to  eat,  and  nothing  to  drink.  Once  upon  a  time  a  man  made  a  bow 
for  his  son,  who  was  asleep.  When  the  child  awoke  it  cried  for 
thirst,  but  his  father  was  unable  to  give  him  any  water.  He  offered 
his  son  grease  to  drink,  but  he  refused  it.  Then  the  father  gave  him 
the  bow  in  order  to  quiet  him,  but  the  boy  continued  to  cry.  Now 
the  father  took  the  bow,  and  shot  the  arrow  into  a  small  mound  of 


They  cut 
illcd   with 
fiich    they 
h  caribou 
intains  to 
c.    When 
they  had 
;n  took  a 
d  gone  a 
ncuibnim 
they  ran 
.     When 
pursued 
irt  of  the 
'as  trans- 
)gress  of 
le  to  the 
d  horns, 
ur  large 
'hen  the 
hers  ran 
the  way 
horned 
ig  from 
'  body." 
monster 
illed  it. 
1  about 
■  blood, 
it  took 
lat  had 


s  level, 
snow, 
ninials 
\  little 
a  bow 
ied  for 
:)ffcred 
/e  him 
Now 
md  of 


Traditinns  of  the  Tsetsaut. 


261 


dirt  that  was  next  to  the  fire.  When  the  arrow  entered  it  a  spring 
of  water  came  forth,  and  the  boy  drank.  From  it  sprang  all  the 
rivers  of  the  world. 

Hut  there  was  no  rain  and  no  snow.  The  animals  held  a  council, 
and  considered  how  to  procure  them.  They  resolved  to  go  to  the 
end  of  the  world,  to  make  a  hole  through  the  sky,  and  to  climb  up 
through  it.  They  did  ;io.  When  they  reached  the  end  of  the  world 
all  thi  animals  tried  to  tear  the  sky,  but  they  were  unable  to  do  so. 
All  had  tried  e.\cept  two  ermines.  One  of  them  jumped  up,  struck 
the  sky,  and  tore  it.  The  other  ran  through  the  hole,  and  then  all 
the  animals  helped  to  enlarge  it.  They  climbed  up  through  it,  but 
when  all  had  passed  the  hole  closed  again.  They  were  on  a  large, 
beautiful  prairie,  and  walked  on.  After  they  had  gone  some  time, 
they  saw  a  lodge  in  the  far  distance.  They  reached  it  and  entered. 
There  were  many  bags  in  the  house.  One  contained  the  rain,  an- 
other one  the  snow,  a  third  one  the  fog,  and  still  others  the  gales 
and  the  four  winds.  The  men  sat  down  and  debated  what  to  do. 
Only  a  woman  was  in  the  house.  Her  name  was  Xa  txana  (goose 
woman).  They  said  to  her :  "  It  is  dry  and  hot  on  earth.  We  have 
nothing  to  eat,  and  nothing  to  drink.  Give  us  what  we  need,  for 
you  are  keeping  it  in  your  house."  The  goose  woman  replied  :  "  All 
that  you  need  is  in  these  bags :  rain  and  snow,  the  winds,  the  gale, 
and  the  fog.  If  you  tear  them,  it  will  be  winter.  The  North  wind 
will  blow.  It  will  be  cold,  and  the  ground  will  be  covered  with  snow. 
The  1  the  snow  will  melt,  the  West  wind  will  blow,  and  trees  and 
shruDs  will  bloom  and  bear  fruit.  Then  another  season  of  snows  and 
cold  will  follow." 

Now  the  people  tore  the  bags,  and  it  happened  as  the  woman  had 
predicted.  Clouds  began  to  gather,  and  snow  was  falling.  At  the 
same  time  the  level  ground  changed  its  form,  and  mountains  arose. 

Then  the  animals  went  back.  Again  the  ermine  tore  the  sky, 
and  all  went  down.  Then  the  animals  ran  into  the  woods  and  sep- 
arated from  man. 

See  Petitot,  "  Traditions  indiennes  du  Canada  Nord-Ouest,"  p. 
375.  A  legend  of  the  Chippewayan,  who  tell  of  the  heat,  rain,  gales, 
and  cold  being  kept  in  bags  in  the  sky. 

4.    THE   THUNDERBIRD. 

Once  upon  a  time  a  dog  barked  while  it  was  thundering.  This 
frightened  the  thunderbird  so  badly  that  it  fell  down  dead  near  a 
village.  The  people  went  to  see  it,  and  observed  that  its  skin  was 
similar  in  appearance  to  that  of  a  frog.  It  carried  three  large  bags, 
one  between  its  legs  and  one  in  each  armpit.  They  were  full  of 
water.      Its  view  made  the  people  sick.     When  the  thunderbird 


262 


Journal  of  American  Folk- Lore, 


opens  its  eyes,  there  is  a  flash  of  lightning.  Its  voice  is  the  thun- 
der. When  it  presses  the  bags  it  begins  to  rain.  It  is  as  large  as  a 
house. 

5.    THE    FLOOD. 

Once  upon  a  time  a  man,  his  wife,  and  his  mother-in-law  went  up 
the  mountains  to  hunt  marmots.  When  they  had  reached  the  higher 
parts  of  a  hill,  they  saw  the  waters  rising.  They  climbed  higher 
and  higher,  but  the  waters  rose  steadily.  All  the  people  fled  up  the 
mountains.  Finally.,  when  the  water  was  about  to  reach  them,  they 
resolved  to  inclose  their  children  in  hollow  trees,  hoping  that  there 
they  might  be  safe  until  the  waters  would  retreat.  They  hol- 
lowed out  two  trees,  in  one  of  which  they  placed  the  children  of  the 
eagle  clan,  while  in  the  other  one  they  placed  the  children  of  the 
wolf  clan.  They  gave  them  an  ample  supply  of  food,  and  then 
closed  up  the  trees  with  wooden  cjvcrs,  which  they  caulked  with 
pitch.  The  water  continued  to  rise,  and  all  the  people  were  drowned. 
The  children  who  were  inclosed  in  the  trees  heard  the  waves  break- 
ing in  the  branches  and  felt  the  swaying  of  the  trees.  Finally,  the 
trees  were  entirely  covered  by  water.  After  a  few  days  the  water 
began  to  retreat.  Again  the  trees  were  swaying.  The  children  heard 
the  waves  breaking,  fir^t  in  the  highest  branches,  then  farther  down, 
and  finally  everything  was  quiet.  They  went  to  sleep,  and  when 
they  awoke  one  of  the  boys  opened  the  hole.  They  saw  that  the 
water  had  disappeared,  but  the  branches  were  still  dripping.  The 
ground  was  wet  and  soggy,  and  everything  was  covered  with  sea- 
weeds. Then  the  children  came  forth  from  the  trees,  but  the  ground 
was  so  wet  that  they  were  unable  to  start  a  fire,  so  that  many  died 
of  cold.  Finally  the  ground  dried  up.  They  made  a  fire,  which 
they  fed  with  their  supplies  of  mountain-goat  tallow.  They  married, 
and  became  the  ancestors  of  the  Ts'Ets'a'ut. 

6.    THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    FIRE. 

The  grizzly  bear  used  the  fire-stones  (pyrites)  as  ear  ornaments. 
Therefore  he  was  the  only  one  to  have  fire.  A  small  bird  (ts'ox'e') 
desired  to  have  the  fire,  and  flew  to  the  house  of  the  grizzly  bear. 
When  the  latter  discovered  him,  he  spoke  to  him  :  "  Please,  come 
here  and  louse  me."  The  bird  complied  with  his  request.  He 
alighted  on  the  crown  of  his  head,  and  began  to  pick  off  the  lice. 
In  doing  so  he  came  nearer  and  nearer  the  ears  of  the  bear.  Finally 
he  bit  through  the  thread  from  which  the  ear  ornaments  were  sus- 
pended, and  took  them  away  unobserved.  Then  he  flew  away. 
When  the  grizzly  bear  noticed  his  loss  he  grew  angry,  extinguished 
his  fire,  and  tried  to  catch  the  bird.  The  latter  teased  him,  saying : 
"  Henceforth  you  will  live  in  the  dark.     You  will  not  have  any  fire." 


!%«.. 


Traditions  of  the  Tsetsaut. 


263 


the  thun- 
largc  as  a 


r  went  up 
le  higher 
d  higher 
2cl  up  the 
em,  they 
lat  there 
hey   hol- 
en  of  the 
n  of  the 
ind  then 
ced  with 
irowned. 
-s  break- 
ally,  the 
lie  water 
en  heard 
IT  down, 
id  when 
hat  the 
The 
ith  sea- 
ground 
ny  died 
which 
narried, 


iments. 
s  ox  e ) 
i  bear. 
!,  come 
t.  He 
le  lice, 
^'inally 
■e  sus- 
away. 
uished 
aying : 
r  fire." 


The  bear  replied :  "  That  docs  not  matter  to  me.  I  can  scent  my 
food,  but  you  will  be  unable  to  sec,  and  must  obtain  your  food  in 
the  daytime,  when  it  is  light.  From  now  on  it  shall  be  dark."  It 
grew  dark,  but  the  bird  remained  sitting  quietly  on  a  tree  until  it 
grew  daylight  again.  Then  it  flew  pU  over  the  world.  It  dropped 
here  and  there  a  fragment  of  the  stones.  Then  it  flew  to  the  birds, 
and  gave  them  parts  of  the  stones.  Finall)  it  flow  to  where  the 
Ts'iits'a'ut  were  staying,  and  threw  the  stones  down.  Thoy  were 
tied  together  by  twt)s.  The  people  struck  them,  and  caught  the 
sparks  on  tinder,  and  thus  started  the  first  fire. 

• 

7.    THE    MARMOT    WOMAN. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  widower  who  had  a  son.  He  had 
built  his  lodge  near  the  upper  end  of  a  valley  which  abounded  in 
marmots.  Iwcry  day  they  went  hunting,  but  he  was  unsuccessful. 
It  so  happened  that  one  day  the  boy  caught  a  young  marmot.  He 
did  not  kill  it,  but  took  it  home.  Its  mother  saw  what  had  happened, 
and  followed  the  boy  to  his  lodge.  There  she  took  off  her  skin,  and 
was  at  once  transformed  into  a  stout  woman.  She  stepped  up  to 
the  entrance  of  the  lodge,  and  said  to  the  men  :  "Give  me  my  child." 
They  were  surprised,  for  they  did  not  know  who  she  was,  but  the 
father  invited  her  to  enter.  She  said  :  "  No,  your  lodge  is  not  clean." 
Then  he  arose,  gathered  some  grass,  which  he  spread  on  the  floor 
for  her  to  sit  on.  She  entered  and  sat  down.  The  boy  gave  her 
the  young  marmot,  wliich  she  at  once  proceeded  to  suckle.  Then 
the  woman  asked  for  eagle's  down.  After  she  had  received  this, 
she  said  to  the  hunter :  "  You  are  unsuccessful  in  hunting  because 
you  are  unclean.  I  will  cleanse  you."  She  wiped  the  inside  of  his 
mouth  and  removed  a  vast  quantity  of  phlegm.  Now  he  was  clean. 
She  became  his  wife.  Before  he  again  went  out  hunting  she  ordered 
him  to  seek  the  solitude  of  the  mountains,  and  to  fast  for  three  days. 
He  went,  and  on  his  return  the  woman  gave  him  a  small  stick  with 
which  to  kill  marmots. 

The  first  day  he  went  out  hunting  he  saw  numerous  marmots,  and 
killed  twenty.  He  carried  them  home,  and  his  wife  at  once  began 
to  skin  and  carve  them.  She  hung  up  the  meat  to  dry.  While  her 
husband  had  been  away,  she  had  gathered  a  vast  quantity  of  salmon 
berries,  and  they  lived  on  berries  and  on  meat.  On  the  following 
day  the  man  again  went  hunting,  and  killed  fifty  marmots.  The 
lodge  was  full  of  meat. 

Often  while  he  was  out  hunting  he  noticed  that  one  marmot  was 
following  him  all  the  time.  It  was  tame,  and  played  around  him. 
Therefore  he  did  not  kill  it.  One  day,  however,  when  there  were  no 
other  marmots  to  be  seen,  he  killed  it  and  carried  it  home.     When 


t64 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lorc. 


his  wife  opened  the  poucli  and  pulled  out  the  game,  she  began  to 
cry  and  to  wiil :  "  You  have  killed  my  brother !  you  have  killed  my 
brother  ! "  She  put  down  the  body,  and  laid  all  the  other  marmots 
that  her  husband  had  procured  around  it.  Then  she  sang  :  "  Brother, 
arise!"  [qoxde  knse  kluk  !  This  is  said  to  be  Tlingit).  When  she 
had  sung  a  little  while,  the  body  began  to  move.  The  dried  meat 
began  to  assume  shape.  She  threw  on  it  the  skins,  and  all  the 
marmots  returned  to  life  and  ran  up  the  hills. 

She  followed  them,  crying.  Her  husband  was  frightened,  but 
followed  her,  accompanied  by  his  son.  After  they  had  gone  some 
distance,  they  saw  her  disappearing  in  a  fissure  of  the  rocks,  which 
opened  and  let  her  in.  When  they  reached  the  fissui  c,  the  father 
told  his  son  to  stay  outsiae  while  he  himself  tried  to  enter.  The 
fissure  opened,  and  on  entering  he  found  himself  in  a  lodge.  I^i'- 
brother-in-law  had  taken  off  his  skin,  which  was  hanging  from  the 
roof.  He  was  sitting  in  the  rear  of  the  lodge.  The  women  were 
seated  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  and  were  weaving  baskets  and  hats. 
The  chief  spoke  :  "  Spread  a  mat  for  my  brother-in-law."  The 
people  obeyed,  and  he  sat  down  next  to  his  wife.  The  chief  ordered 
to  be  brought  a  clo:.  of  marmot  skins.  When  he  put  it  on,  he  was 
transformed  into  a  marmot.  He  was  given  a  hole  to  live  in,  and  a 
rock  on  which  he  was  to  sit  and  whistle  as  the  marmots  are  in  the 
habit  of  doing.  The  son  saw  all  that  had  happened,  and  returned 
home  in  great  distress. 

Two  years  after  these  events,  the  brothers  of  the  man  who  had 
been  transformed  into  a  marmot  went  hunting.  They  pitched  their 
camp  at  the  same  place  where  their  brother  had  lived.  After  hav- 
ing cleaned  their  bodies  and  fasted  for  four  days,  they  set  their 
traps.  They  were  very  successful.  One  day  one  of  the  brothers 
saw  a  marmot  jumping  into  a  crack  of  the  rocks.  He  set  his  trap  at 
the  entrance  of  the  fissure,  and  when  he  came  back  in  the  evening 
he  found  the  animal  in  his  trap.  He  put  it  into  his  pouch  with  the 
rest  of  his  game,  and  went  home.  His  wife  began  to  skin  the  mar- 
mots, and  to  dress  the  meat.  She  took  up  this  particular  animal  last. 
When  she  cut  the  skin  around  the  forepawsshe  saw  a  bracelet  under 
the  skin,  and  her  nephew,  who  was  staying  with  them,  recognized  it 
as  that  of  his  father.  Then  she  put  the  animal  aside.  At  midnight 
it  threw  off  its  skin,  and  resumed  the  shape  of  a  man.  On  the  fol- 
lowing morning  they  recognized  their  brother  ivho  had  been  lost  for 
two  years.  He  told  them  of  all  that  had  happened  since  the  lime 
when  he  had  left  his  son  at  the  fissure  of  the  rock,  how  he  had  be- 
come a  marmot,  and  how  he  had  lived  as  one  of  their  race. 


mi 
mj 
vai 

eli 


Traditions  of  the  Tseisaut. 


265 


8.    THE    Cl.OUI)    WOMAN. 

Two  brothers,  with  their  mother,  went  up  the  mountains  to  hunt 
marmots.  'Ihcy  built  a  lodge,  ami  the  younger  brother  and  the 
mother  stayed  at  home  while  the  ckler  one  went  into  a  nei^^hboiing 
valley  to  hunt.  While  the  younger  brother  was  very  successful,  the 
elder  one  was  almost  starving.  (3ne  day,  however,  a  cloud  came  to 
his  lo.lgc  and  mar'ied  him  b'rom  ci.  time  on  he  caught  great  num- 
bers of  marmots.  After  some  time  lie  went  to  visit  his  mother. 
He  brought  her  two  marmots.  It  was  clear  weather,  and  his  mother 
noticed  with  surprise  that  at  thi  '  me  01  his  arrival  he  was  quite'wct. 
On  the  following  morning  h(<  again  dc  pnned,  and  stayed  away  for  a 
long  time,  so  thac  Ms  mother  and  b'olih.r  b«>gan  to  worry  about  him. 
Finally  his  younger  brother  started  to  look  for  him.  He  crossed 
the  mountain,  and  reached  a  beautiful  v.dley.  At  some  distance  he 
discovered  a  lodge.  He  thought:  "This  mwiA  be  my  brother's 
lodge,"  and  went  down  to  it.  When  he  had  reached  it  he  en- 
tered, but  did  not  see  a  soul.  The  lodge  was  built  of  bark.  It  was 
full  of  meat.  Now  he  heard  somebody  laughing  and  speaking,  but 
he  did  not  understand  what  was  said.  He  h)oked  around  everywhere, 
but  he  did  not  sec  any  one.  Finally  he  discovered  a  small  cloud  of 
mist  which  was  moving  about  in  the  house.  He  entered  and  sat 
down.  He  saw  the  mist  moving  towards  a  small  basket,  which  was 
then  taken  to  a  large  basket  and  filled  with  berries.  Then  the 
mist  moved  to  a  spit,  which  was  lying  near  the  fire.  It  was  lifted, 
covered  with  a  slice  of  meat,  and  put  close  to  the  fire.  When  the 
meat  was  done,  the  mist  enveloped  a  dish  and  a  knife,  and  moved  to 
the  spit.  Then  the  meat  was  put  into  the  dish,  and  the  mist  carried 
it  to  the  young  man,  who  began  to  eat.  When'  he  had  finished,  the 
mist  brought  a  basket  filled  with  water,  and  the  young  man  drank. 
Next  came  a  dish  filled  with  salmon  berries  mixed  with  bear  grease. 
The  mist  enveloped  a  spoon,  which  began  to  stir  the  mixture,  and 
then  stayed  in  front  of  the  young  man.  While  he  was  still  eating, 
his  elder  brother  entered  the  lodge.  Again  he  heard  the  laughing 
of  women.  The  young  man  said  ;  "  Roth  mother  and  myself  thought 
you  were  dead,  and  I  came  to  search  for  you."  Th»n  the  mist  gave 
to  the  elder  brother  a  basket  filled  with  berries,  and  left  the  house. 
It  reappeared,  carrying  a  basket  filled  with  water.  It  took  up  the 
elder  brother's  pouch.  It  opened,  and  marmots  fell  out  of  it.  Then 
the  mist  lay  over  the  marmots,  and  the  young  man  saw  that  they 
were  being  skinned  and  dressed.  Soon  the  mist  left  the  lodge,  car- 
rying the  skins.  The  elder  brother  spoke  r  "That  cloud  of  mist  is 
my  wife.  Do  not  ever  mention  the  word  'cloud '  in  her  presence, 
else  she  will  leave  me." 


266 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lorc. 


II 


In  the  evening  the  elder  brother  gave  a  skin  blanket  to  his 
visitor  and  they  went  to  sleep.  The  mist  settled  at  the  side  of  the 
elder  brother.  On  the  following  morning,  after  they  had  taken 
breakfast,  the  young  man  prepared  to  return  to  his  mother.  He 
was  going  to  tell  her  that  his  lost  brother  had  been  found,  and  to 
i.,  .ite  her  to  come  and  stay  with  him.  He  started,  and  when  he 
had  reached  his  lodge  he  told  his  mother  that  her  eldest  son  had 
married  a  cloud,  and  that  he  desired  them  to  stay  with  him.  The 
old  woman  packed  her  belongings  and  they  started  to  cross  the 
mr^untains.  When  they  approached  the  lodge,  the  cloud  woman 
was  engaged  in  drying  marmot  skins.  When  the  young  man,  who 
had  gone  in  advance,  reached  the  house,  his  elder  brother  sent  his 
wife  to  meet  his  mother,  and  to  help  her  carry  her  load.  Swiftly 
the  cloud  moved  up  to  the  old  woman,  and  flew  around  her,  emitting 
a  hissing  noise,  which  frightened  the  woman.  Then  the  cloud  re- 
turned to  the  lodge.  Her  husband  asked  :  "  Did  you  bring  the 
load  .''  "  She  replied  :  "  Your  mother  declined  to  give  it  to  me." 
Then  the  man  sent  her  back,  and  asked  her  to  take  the  load.  She 
obeyed.  When  she  reached  the  old  woman,  she  found  her  resting 
her  load  on  a  rock.  She  took  it  from  her  back,  and  carried  it  home. 
Before  the  old  woman  had  been  able  to  reach  the  lodge,  the  cloud 
had  left  again  to  pick  berries.  Soon  she  returned.  She  put  stones 
into  the  fire  and  boiled  meat  for  her  guests. 

The  man's  mother  and  brother  continued  to  live  with  them. 
After  some  time,  they  saw  the  toes  and  the  fingers  of  a  woman  pro- 
truding from  the  cloud  of  mist.  Gradually  arms  and  legs  and  the 
body  began  to  appear,  and  finally  they  were  able  to  see  her  face. 
She  was  very  beautiful.  One  morning  when  they  awoke  the  last 
trace  of  the  mist  had  disappeared,  and  they  saw  a  beautiful  woman 
in  its  place.  The  younger  brother  said  to  her  :  "  Why  did  you  never 
speak  to  me  .'  "  She  replied  :  "  I  spoke  to  you,  but  you  did  not 
understand  i^'^e." 

She  was  with  child,  and  after  some  time  she  gave  birth  to  a  boy. 
He  had  red  hair.  And  after  some  time  she  gave  birth  to  a  girl. 
The  children  grew  up. 

One  day,  while  the  brothers  were  out  hunting,  the  children  were 
playing  in  front  of  the  lodge.  Their  mother  was  putting  on  her 
moccasins,  preparing  to  pick  berries  in  the  woods.  Then  the  boy 
said:  "O  mother!  see  the  cloud  on  that  mountain."  A*:  once  the 
woman  began  to  vanish,  she  took  her  daughter  in  her  arms,  a  hissing 
sound  was  heard,  the  house  burst,  and  she  was  transformed  into 
a  cloud.  The  grandmother  held  the  little  boy  in  her  arms,  while 
the  cloud  carried  away  the  girl.  The  mountains  were  covered  with 
clouds,  and  it  began  to  rain  in  torrents.    The  brothers  heard  the 


Traditions  of  the  Tsetsaut. 


267 


et  to    his 

iide  of  the 
had  taken 
thcr.  He 
nd,  and  to 
1  when  he 
t  son  had 
lim.     The 

cross  the 
id  woman 

man,  who 
r  sent  his 
.  Swiftly 
•,  emitting 

cloud  re- 
bring  the 
t  to  me." 
oad.  She 
cr  resting 
d  it  home. 

the  cloud 
Dut  stones 

ith  them. 
:)man  pro- 
;s  and  the 
her  face. 
?  the  last 
ul  woman 
you  never 
\  did  not 

to  a  boy. 
to  a  girl. 

rcn  were 
%  on  her 
1  the  boy 
once  the 
a  hissing 
Tied  into 
ns,  while 
red  with 
card  the 


cries  of  the  girl  in  the  clouds  and  saw  her  being  wafted  from  place 
to  place.  The  "cloud  woman"  was  not  seen  any  more.  Later 
on  the  elder  brother  was  lost  while  hunting.  I  suppose  his  wife 
took  him  with  her. 

For  a  similar  legend  see  Petitot,  /.  c.  p.  1 20,  Legends  of  the  Hare 
Indians. 

THE    VISIT   TO   THE   SKY. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  man  who  had  a  large  family.  One 
morning  his  wife  and  children,  upon  awaking,  were  unable  to  find 
him.     He  had  disappeared. 

When  he  awoke  he  found  himself  in  a  strange  lodge  among 
strange  people.  The  house  stood  on  a  vast  open  prairie.  A  young 
girl  was  lying  at  his  side.  It  was  very  beautiful  there.  Now  he 
heard  the  chief  speaking.  He  looked  around,  but  he  did  not  see  a 
soul.  The  girl  said  to  him:  "You  are  in  the  sky.  My  father  is 
going  to  make  you  clean  and  strong."  Then  he  heard  the  chief  say- 
ing :  "  Build  a  large  fire  and  put  stones  on  top  of  it."  A  giant  arose, 
who  built  a  fire  and  put  on  stones.  After  a  while  the  chief  asked  : 
"Are  the  stones  red  hot.'"  The  giant  replied:  "  They  are  hot." 
Then  the  wood  was  taken  away,  the  red  hot  stones  were  piled  up, 
and,  after  the  man  had  been  placed  on  top,  a  blanket  was  spread 
over  him.  Then  the  ashes  were  placed  on  top  of  the  blanket,  and  a 
new  fire  wa..  built  over  the  whole  pile.  This  was  kept  burning  for 
a  whole  day.  In  the  evening  the  chief  said  to  the  giant  :  "  I  think 
he  is  done."  The  fire  and  the  ashes  were  removed,  and  the  man 
was  found  to  be  red  hot,  but  not  steamed.  He  was  taken  from  the 
pile  of  stones  with  wooden  tongs  and  placed  on  a  plank,  which  was 
supported  at  each  end. 

The  girl  was  crying  all  day,  because  she  believed  him  dead. 
Early  the  next  morning  the  chief  sent  the  giant  to  see  if  the  visitor 
was  still  alive.  He  lifted  the  blanket  which  had  been  spread  over 
the  red  hot  body.  Then  the  plank,  which  had  been  burned  by  con- 
tact with  the  body  of  the  stranger,  gave  way,  and  he  fell  down.  But 
he  a-ose  at  once  hale  and  well.  Then  the  chief  had  a  mat  spread 
fpr  him  in  the  rear  of  the  house  and  said  :  "  I  burned  you  in  order  to 
make  your  body  as  hard  as  stone.  Sit  down  with  my  daughter.  She 
shall  be  your  wife."  He  married  her,  and  the  young  woman  was 
glad.  The  chief  said  :  "  If  you  so  desire,  you  may  take  her  down  to 
the  earth.  She  shall  see  what  the  people  are  doing."  The  chief's 
lodge  was  full  of  many  kinds  of  food,  which,  however,  were  not 
known  to  the  visitor. 

When  they  prepared  to  descend  to  the  earth,  the  chief  gave  his 
daughter  a  pot  and  a  black  tube,  through  which  she  drank  of  the 
liquid  contained  in  the  pot.     Nobody  except  herself  was  allowed  to 


268 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


use  these,  and  she  herself  did  not  partake  of  any  other  kind  of  food. 
The  chief  ordered  the  giant  to  open  the  road  that  led  to  the  earth. 
He  opened  a  hole  in  the  ground,  took  the  rainbow  at  its  one  end, 
and  placed  the  other  end  on  the  earth.  Before  they  parted  the  chief 
forbade  the  man  ever  to  tell  where  he  had  been  and  what  he  had 
seen  and  to  talk  to  any  woman  except  his  present  wife. 
•  They  departed,  and  reached  the  earth  not  far  away  from  the  vil- 
lage where  the  man  had  formerly  lived.  He  did  not  recognize  the 
country,  but  his  wife  showed  him  the  way  and  told  him  that  they 
would  reach  the  village  in  the  evening.  When  they  approached  the 
camp  the  people  recognized  him.  All  assembled  and  asked  him 
where  he  came  from.  He  told  them  that  he  had  been  in  the  sky, 
and  that  his  new  wife  was  a  daughter  of  the  chief  of  the  sky.  He 
was  invited  to  return  to  his  former  wife  and  to  his  children,  but  he 
did  not  go.  He  built  a  lodge  outside  tlie  camp.  He  took  a  girl 
into  his  lodge  to  be  a  servant  to  his  wife.  Every  day  he  himself 
had  to  fetch  water  for  his  wife  in  the  pot  which  her  father  had  given 
to  her.  This  she  drank  through  her  tube.  The  latter  had  the 
property  of  swimming  on  the  water  as  long  as  her  husband  was  true 
to  her.  It  went  down  when  he  had  spoken  to  any  other  woman  but 
her. 

One  day  when  he  returned  bringing  the  water  his  young  wife 
asked  him  if  he  vv^ould  like  to  talk  to  his  former  wife.  He  did  not 
reply,  thus  intimating  that  he  did  not  care  for  her.  But  when  the 
young  woman  placed  the  tube  into  the  water  it  sank.  She  knew  at 
once  that  her  husband  had  spoken  to  his  former  wife.  Then  she 
said  :  "  I  came  to  take  pity  on  you  and  on  your  friends ;  but  since 
you  do  not  obey  my  father's  commands  I  must  go  back."  She  wept, 
and  embracing  her  servant  she  said  :  "  Hide  in  the  woods  under  the 
roots  of  a  large  tree  where  the  rays  of  the  sun  will  not  strike  you, 
else  you  will  perish  with  all  the  rest  of  the  people."  The  girl  did 
as  she  was  bidden.  Then  the  rainbow  appeared.  She  climbed  up 
and  disappeared  from  view. 

On  the  following  day  the  man  went  hunting.  Then  the  sun 
began  to  shine  hotter  and  hotter.  There  was  no  cloud  in  the  sky.» 
The  camp  grew  quiet,  even  the  dogs  ceased  to  howl.  The  rays  of 
the  sun  had  burned  the  whole  camp.  Only  the  man  and  the  servant 
girl  had  escaped  destruction  The  man,  when  the  sun  was  shining 
so  fiercely,  had  cooled  himself  with  the  snow  and  the  water  of  the 
mountains,  while  the  servant  girl  was  protected  by  the  roots  of  the 
tree.  When  the  sun  set  the  fire  went  out  and  ♦^he  girl  returned 
to  her  friends,  to  whom  she  told  what  had  happened.  Nobody 
knows  about  the  further  fate  of  the  man. 

Frane  Boas. 


mX 


.")  CL^C 


i 


id  of  food, 
the  earth, 
one  end, 
1  the  chief 
at  he  had 

Ti  the  vil- 
)gnize  the 
that  they 
ached  the 
sked  him 
1  the  sky, 
sky.  He 
:n,  but  he 
ook  a  girl 
e  himself 
had  given 
had  the 

1  was  true 
Oman  but 

•ung  wife 

2  did  not 
when  the 
I  knew  at 
rhen  she 
but  since 
5he  wept, 
jnder  the 
rike  you, 
:  girl  did 
mbed  up 

the  sun 
the  sky., 
e  rays  of 
e  servant 
s  shining 
or  of  the 
ts  of  the 
returned 
Nobody 

f  Boas. 


^  *    '  Traditions  of  the  Tsctsaut.  35 

TRADITIONS   OF   THE  TS'ETS'A'UT. 

m 

10.    THE    GREAT    SNOWFALL. 

Gn'ce  upon  a  time  a  number  of  families  of  the  wolf  clan  and  of 
the  eagle  clan  lived  in  a  village  at  Sqamgo'ns,  in  Portland  Channel. 
Near  by  there  was  a  village  of  grizzly  bear  mcn.^  They  attacked  the 
village,  and  killed  everybody  with  the  exception  of  one  boy  and  one 
girl  of  each  of  the  two  clans.  They  were  crying  all  the  time  when 
they  saw  their  relatives  killed.  Then  one  of  the  grizzly  bear  men 
went  to  their  hut,  and  threatened  to  kill  them  if  they  should  not 
stop  crying.  But  one  of  the  boys  took  his  bow  and  arrow  and  shot 
the  man  in  the  chest,  thus  killing  him.  After  this  had  happened, 
they  dug  a  deep  ditch  in  their  hut,  and  buried  all  their  relatives  who 
had  been  killed. 

They  left  the  place  of  these  misfortunes  and  went  down  the 
mountains.  After  some  time  they  reached  a  house,  in  which  they 
found  an  old,  old  man  who  had  been  left  by  his  friends  to  die  alone. 
He  said  to  them  :  "  Stay  here  until  I  die,  my  grandchildren,  and 
bury  me  when  I  am  dead."  They  stayed,  and  he  asked  them  why 
they  had  left  their  country.  When  they  had  told  him,  he  asked 
them  to  return,  because  salmon  were  nowhere  as  plentiful  as  in  the 
river  on  which  their  house  had  stood.  He  also  warned  them,  say- 
ing :  "  The  sky  is  full  of  feathers.  Take  good  care  to  provide  your- 
self with  plenty  of  meat,  and  build  a  strong  house."  He  was  a 
great  shaman,  and  was  able  to  foresee  the  future. 

After  two  days  he  died.  The  young  people  buried  him.  Then 
they  started  to  return  to  their  home  in  obedience  to  what  the  sha- 
man had  told  them.  They  followed  a  river,  and  when  they  were 
near  its  source  they  saw  an  immense  herd  of  mountain  goats  coming 
down  towards  them.  They  did  not  stop  to  shoot  them,  but  ran  right 
up  to  them  and  dispatched  them,  cutting  their  throats  with  their 
knives.  Then  they  went  back  to  the  camp  in  which  they  had  left 
the  girls,  taking  along  only  a  kid  that  they  had  killed.  They  threw 
some  of  its  meat  and  tallow  into  the  fire,  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  dead 
shaman  who  had  directed  them  to  return  home.  On  the  following 
day  they  moved  their  camp  to  a  hill  which  was  located  in  the  midst 
of  three  lakes.  There  they  built  a  strong  hut  as  directed  by  the  sha- 
man. The  two  girls  went  out  to  fetch  the  meat  of  the  mountnin  goats. 
V/hile  they  were  drying  it,  the  boys  strengthened  the  poles  of  the 

'  These  were  men.  It  is  not  quite  clear  if  they  were  men  of  ii  grizzly  bear 
clan,  or  if  the  story  happened  at  the  time  when  all  animals  were  still  men. 


Si 

f 


T 


jft  y ournal  of  American  Folk-Lore.     /\   .   '   ^  j  f  ■ 

house,  joined  them  with  stout  thongs,  and  thus  prepared  for  a  heavy 
snowfall.  They  put  the  meat  into  the  house.  On  the  following 
day  the  snow  began  to  fall.  They  lived  on  the  meat  of  the  moun- 
tain goats,  but  they  sacrificed  as  much  to  the  dead  shaman  as  they 
ate.  It  continued  to  snow  for  two  months.  They  could  not  go  out 
to  gather  wood  for  their  fire,  but  they  had  to  burn  the  bones  and 
the  tallow  of  the  goats.  The  smoke  kept  a  hole  open  in  the  roof  of 
their  hut ;  and,  when  looking  up,  they  could  see  no  more  than  a  very 
small  speck  of  light.  But  after  two  months  they  saw  the  blue  sky 
through  this  hole.  The  sun  was  shining  again.  Then  they  dug  a 
hole  towards  the  surface  of  the  snow  and  came  out.  Nothing  but 
snow  was  to  be  seen.  The  rocks  of  the  mountains  and  the  trees 
were  all  covered.  Gradually  the  snow  began  to  melt  a  little,  and 
the  tops  of  the  trees  reappeared.  One  day  they  saw  a  bear  near 
the  top  of  a  tree.  When  they  approached,  it  crawled  back  to  its 
lair  at  the  foot  of  the  tree.  Now  they  started  on  their  way  to 
their  old  home.  After  a  long  and  difficult  march,  they  reached  it 
just  at  the  time  when  the  olachen  were  coming.  They  caught  a 
plentiful  supply  and  were  well  provided  with  provisions.  In  sum- 
mer there  were  salmon  in  the  river.  They  caught  them  and  dried 
and  split  them.  They  married  and  had  many  children.  They  were 
the  only  people  who  were  saved  from  the  heavy  snov/,  and  from 
them  descended  the  present  generations  of  people.  They  multiplied 
very  rapidly,  for  they  married  very  young,  as  dogs  do.  At  the  end 
of  the  first  summer,  only  a  small  part  of  the  snow  had  melted.  A 
few  rocks  appeared  in  the  mountains,  but  in  the  fall  new  snow  began 
to  fall.  In  the  spring  of  the  following  year  it  began  to  melt  again. 
The  trees  were  gradually  freed  from  snow,  but  some  of  it  has  ■..>..  .♦ys 
remained  on  the  mountains,  where  it  forms  the  glaciers. 

The  two  couples  who  had  been  saved  from  the  snow  grew  to  be 
very  old.  Their  hair  was  white,  and  they  were  bent  with  old  age. 
One  day  the  young  men  climbed  the  mountains  to  hunt  mountain 
goat.  One  of  the  old  men  accompanied  them,  but  he  was  left  be- 
hind, as  he  could  not  walk  as  fast  as  the  young  men  did.  When  he 
had  reached  a  meadow  high  up  the  side  of  the  mountain  he  heard  a 
voice  from  the  interior  of  the  rocks  saying  :  "  Here  is  the  man  who 
killed  all  our  friends."  When  he  looked  up  he  saw  a  number  of 
mountain  goats  above.  He  did  not  know  how  to  reach  them,  since 
his  legs  were  weak.  He  took  two  sticks  and  tied  one  to  each  of 
his  legs  in  order  to  steady  and  to  strengthen  them.  Thus  he  was 
enabled  to  climb.  He  reached  the  mountain  goats  and  cut  their 
necks.  He  killed  thirty.  Among  these  was  a  kid.  He  took  out 
its  tallow  and  put  it  on  his  head  ;  he  cut  off  its  head  and  took  it 
under  his  arm  to  carry  it  home.     He  had  stayed  away  so  long  that 


I 


1 


li 


X 


for  a  heavy 
e  following 

the  moun- 
lan  as  they 

not  go  out 
:  bones  and 

the  roof  of 
than  a  very 
le  blue  sky 

they  dug  a 
soothing  but 
d  the  trees 
a  little,  and 
1  bear  near 
back  to  its 
leir  way  to 

reached  it 
y  caught  a 
.  In  sum- 
1  and  dried 
They  were 
',  and  from 
^  multiplied 
'Vt  the  end 
iielted.  A 
snow  began 
melt  again, 
has  :..i.  ^ys 

;re\v  to  be 

;h  old  age. 

t  mountain 

'as  left  be- 
When  he 

he  heard  a 

!  man  who 

number  of 

hem,  since 

to  each  of 

us  he  was        I 
cut  their 

e  took  out 

nd  took  it 

)  long  that 


Traditions  of  the  Tsetsaut. 

his  friends  had  given  him  up  for  lost.  He  told  them  of  his  adven- 
ture. He  roasted  the  kid's  head  and  ate  it.  On  the  following 
morning  he  was  dead. 

II.    THE    CHILDREN    OF    THE    DOG. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  woman  who  went  every  night 
hunting  porcupines.  During  the  daytime  she  hunted  marmots. 
While  out  on  the  mountains  she  built  a  shelter  of  branches.  One 
night,  when  she  had  gone  to  sleep,  a  young  man  entered  her  hut. 
He  looked  just  like  her  lover,  and  she  thought  he  had  followed  her. 
In  the  morning  she  boiled  some  of  the  porcupine  meat  and  both 
partook  of  it,  and  in  the  evening  the  young  man  went  out  to  hunt 
porcupines.  As  soon  as  he  had  left  the  hut,  he  put  on  his  blanket 
and  appeared  in  his  true  shape.  He  was  one  of  the  dogs  of  the 
village.  He  crawled  into  the  dens  of  the  porcupines  and  caught  a 
great  number.  Then  he  took  off  his  blanket  and  reappeared  in  the 
shape  of  a  man.  For  three  nights  he  stayed  with  the  woman. 
During  the  daytime  he  went  hunting  marmots,  and  he  never  went 
out  without  bringing  back  a  vast  amount  of  game.  Then  he  ate  of 
the  food  that  the  woman  had  cooked  and  they  went  to  bed.  In  the 
third  night  he  arose  about  midnight.  He  had  assumed  his  true 
shape,  and  ate  the  meat  and  gnawed  the  bones  of  the  marmots  and 
of  the  porcupines.  The  woman  awoke  by  the  noise  and  saw  a  large 
dog  eating  their  provisions.  She  turned  to  the  man,  intending  to 
awake  him,  but  there  was  nobody  to  be  seen.  Then  she  took  a 
club  and  killed  the  dog.  Early  in  the  morning  she  made  a  bundle 
of  the  remaining  dried  meat  and  returned  to  her  village.  She  did 
not  tell  any  one  ot  what  had  happened.  But  soon  she  felt  that  she 
was  with  child,  and  when  this  came  to  be  known  nobody  knew  who 
had  been  her  lover.  After  two  months  she  was  about  to  be  con- 
fined. The  women  of  the  village  assembled  to  assist  her,  but  what 
was  their  terror  when  she  gave  birth  first  to  two  male  dogs,  then  to 
a  female  dog  !  They  all  fled,  even  her  mother.  Only  her  brother's 
sister  remained  with  her.  The  women  told  the  people  what  had 
happened,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  resolved  to  desert 
her.  They  packed  their  belongings  and  left  the  place.  Only  the 
young  woman  and  her  pups  remained. 

They  grew  up  rapidly.  Every  day  their  mother  went  gathering 
food  for  them.  As  soon  as  she  left  the  hut,  the  pups  took  off  their 
skins,  and  played  about  in  the  shape  of  children.  They  had  nice, 
light  skins.  When  they  saw  their  mother  approaching,  they  put 
on  their  skins,  resumed  the  shape  of  dogs,  and  lay  in  the  ashes 
of  the  fireplace.  One  day  their  mother  did  not  go  very  far. 
She   heard  voices  of  children  near  her  hut.      They  seemed  to  be 


i 


yo2irnal  of  American  Folk-Lorc. 

playing  and  singing.  Cautiously  she  approached  the  hut,  walking 
noiselessly  over  the  snow ;  but  the  children  had  seen  her  coming, 
and  put  on  their  blankets  before  she  was  able  to  come  near.  On 
the  following  day  she  went  up  the  mountains,  and  there  she  pushed 
her  staff  into  the  ground  and  hung  her  blanket  of  marmot  skins  over 
it.  Again  she  approached  the  hut  cautiously.  When  she  came 
near,  she  saw  two  boys  and  one  girl  playing  around.  The  latter 
went  to  look  from  time  to  time,  and  returned  on  seeing  the  staff 
that  was  covered  with  the  blanket.  She  said  to  her  brothers : 
"  Mother  is  still  out  gathering  wood."  Then  the  mother  jumped 
into  the  hut.  On  one  side  of  the  fireplace  were  two  dog-skins; 
on  the  other  there  was  one.  She  took  the  first  two,  and  threw 
them  into  the  fire.  Before  she  was  able  to  take  the  last,  the  girl 
had  run  into  the  house,  put  it  on,  and  was  transformed  into  a  dog. 
Then  the  boys  sat  down  in  a  corner  of  the  house,  crying  for  their 
skins.  Their  mother  gave  them  blankets  made  of  marmot  skins. 
She  made  garments  and  snow-shoes,  bows  and  arrows,  and  the  boys 
began  hunting  squirrels.  When  they  came  to  be  larger  they  hunted 
larger  animals,  and  the  bitch  accompanied  them.  She  was  a  very 
good  hunter.  They  had  such  a  vast  supply  of  game  that  they  did 
not  know  what  to  do  with  it.  Their  house  was  quite  filled  with 
supplies. 

The  people,  however,  who  had  left  the  woman  were  unsuccessful 
in  hunting,  and  were  almost  starving.  They  returned  to  their  old 
hunting-ground,  and  were  surprised  to  find  the  woman  still  alive, 
and  to  sec  the  two  young  men. 

One  day  the  two  hunters  went  out  to  hunt  mountain  goats. 
Their  dog  accompanied  them.  Then  a  goat  attacked  the  dog,  gored 
it,  and  threw  it  down  the  side  of  the  mountain. 

Later  on  the  two  young  men  married  women  of  the  tribe.  Once 
upon  a  time  they  went  hunting,  accompanied  by  seven  men.  They 
hunted  mountain  goats  near  the  sources  of  Tcunaq  River.  They 
killed  a  whole  herd.  Only  one  kid  escaped  by  climbing  a  high, 
precipitous  rock.  There  it  stood,  crying  pitifully.  The  men  of  the 
party  wanted  to  return,  but  the  two  brothers  were  so  eager  to  kill 
the  poor  kid  that  they  began  the  dangerous  ascent  of  the  steep 
rock.  They  had  no  pity.  Then  the  rock  began  to  grow  and  carried 
them  up  so  high  that  there  was  no  possibility  of  return.  They 
succeeded  in  reaching  a- cleft.  There  they  sat  close  together  warm- 
ing each  other,  but  after  three  days  one  of  the  brothers  died.  On 
the  following  day  the  men  of  the  tribe  went  to  the  cliff  and  shouted 
to  the  brothers,  but  there  was  no  reply.  The  other  one  had  died 
also.  When  they  turnr'd  away  to  rejoin  their  tribe,  on  looking  at 
the  rock  they  saw  blood  flowing  down  from  the  place  where  the 


1 


hut,  walking 
her  coming, 
e  near.     On 
;  she  pushed 
3t  skins  ov(?r 
n  she  came 
The  latter 
ng  the  staff 
:r   brothers  : 
her  jumped 
»  dog-skins; 
•,  and  threw 
ast,  the  girl 
into  a  dog. 
ig  for  their 
rmot  skins, 
nd  the  boys 
hey  hunted 

was  a  very 
at  they  did 

filled  with 

nsucccssful 

o  their  old 

still  alive, 

;ain  goats, 
dog,  gored 

ibe.  Once 
en.  They 
^er.  They 
ig  a  high, 
nen  of  the 
?er  to  kill 

the  steep 
md  carried 
rn.  They 
her  warm- 
died.  On 
d  shouted 

had  died 
ooking  at 
vhere  the 


i 


i 


1 
i 


Traditions  of  the  Tsctsaut.  39 

brothers  had  died,  and  also  from  the  retreat  of  the  kid.     The  blood 
may  be  seen  on  the  rock  up  to  this  day. 

Note.  —  This  tale  is  very  widely  spread  over  North  America.  It 
has  been  recorded  all  along  the  Pacific  coast  from  Columbia  River  to 
Alaska  (see  Krause,  "Die  Tlinkit  Indianer,"  p.  269;  V.  ]ioas,  "  In- 
dianische  Sagen  von  der  Nord-1'acifischen  Kiiste  Amerikas,"  pp.  25, 
93,  114,  132,  263,  269).  From  the  Mackenzie  Basin  it  is  known 
through  a  version  recorded  by  E.  Petitot  ("  Traditions  du  Canada 
Nord-Ouest,"  p.  311,  a  tradition  of  the  Dog-rib  Indians;  p.  314,  a 
tradition  of  the  Hare  Indians).  There  is  little  doubt  that  here  also 
belongs  the  similar  tradition  of  the  Eskimo  recorded  by  Rink 
("Talcs  and  Traditions  of  the  Eskimo,"  p.  471) ;  Boas  ("The  Cen- 
tral Eskimo,"  p.  630);  by  Murdoch  ("American  Naturalist,"  1886, 
p.  594)  ;  and  also  by  Boas  from  Port  Clarence  ("  Journ.  Am.  Folk- 
Lore,"  vol.  vii.  p.  207). 

12.    THE   STARS. 

There  were  two  sisters  who  were  playing  in  front  of  their  house. 
They  made  a  small  hut  and  lay  down  in  it  to  sleep.  During  the  night 
they  awoke,  and  saw  the  stars  in  the  sky.  One  of  the  sisters  said  : 
"Do  you  see  that  white  star.'  I  will  have  him  for  my  husband. 
You  take  that  red  star."  They  joked  and  laughed  on  this  proposi- 
tion, and  finally  went  to  sleep  again.  While  they  were  sleeping 
two  men  entered  their  hut.  One  of  them  wore  a  white  blanket,  the 
other  wore  a  red  blanket.  The  latter  married  the  elder  sister, 
while  the  former  took  the  younger  for  his  wife.  They  removed 
them  from  the  house  into  the  sky.  They  were  the  two  stars  of 
whom  the  girls  had  been  speaking.  When  the  sisters  awoke  and 
saw  the  strange  men  by  their  sides,  they  did  not  know  where  they 
were. 

On  the  following  morning  their  mother  called  them  to  come  to 
breakfast.  When  she  did  not  receive  an  answer,  she  grew  angry 
and  went  to  call  the  girls.  Then  she  saw  that  they  had  disappeared. 
During  the  night  a  boy  had  heard  how  the  girls  had  been  talking 
about  the  stars,  and  thus  the  people  were  led  to  suppose  that  the 
stars  had  abducted  the  girls.  The  stars  go  out  every  night  with 
bow  and  arrows  hunting  cariboos.  Then  they  look  through  the 
holes  in  the  sky  and  see  what  is  going  on  on  earth. 

The  two  stars  who  had  married  the  girls  also  went  out  every 
night,  and  brought  home  many  cariboos.  The  young  women 
skinned  and  carved  them.  They  made  gloves,  shoes,  and  dresses 
from  the  skins.  They  cut  long  thongs  from  the  skins  of  others, 
cutting  spirally  around  their  bodies.     They  hid   the  clothing  and 


^^r^, 


40 


Journal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


I 

1 


the  thongs  carefully  from  their  husbands.  There  was  no  water, 
no  cloud,  and  no  rain  in  the  sky,  and  they  wore  always  suffering 
thirst.  They  had  nothing  to  eat  but  meat.  Therefore  they  longed 
to  return  to  their  own  country.  When  they  had  prepared  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  thongs  and  of  cloths  they  made  ready  to  escape. 
One  day,  when  their  husbands  had  started  on  a  long  hunting  expedi- 
tion, they  went  to  the  hole  in  the  sky.  They  tied  stones  to  one  end 
of  a  thong  and  let  it  down  towards  the  earth.  When  one  thong  was 
paid  out  they  tied  a  new  one  to  the  end  of  the  first,  and  thus  they 
continued  from  morning  to  night.  The  one  woman  brought  the 
cloths  ana  the  thongs  from  their  hiding-place,  while  the  other  let 
them  down.  Finally,  after  four  days,  they  felt  the  rope  striking  the 
ground.  They  could  not  see  the  earth  because  it  was  hidilcn  by 
smoke.  They  shook  the  thong  and  it  fell  a  little  farther,  but  finally 
it  seemed  to  have  reached  the  ground.  At  least  they  felt  that  it 
was  held  by  something.  Now  they  tied  two  pairs  of  sticks  together, 
one  being  on  each  side  of  the  rope.  They  put  on  four  suits  of 
clothing,  four  pairs  of  shoes,  and  four  pairs  of  gloves.  The  elder 
sister  stepped  on  one  pair  of  sticks  and  they  began  to  glide  down, 
the  sticks  acting  as  a  brake.  The  rope  swung  to  and  fro,  and  the 
sister  who  had  remained  behind  gradually  lost  sight  of  her.  Finally 
the  young  woman  reached  the  end  of  the  rope  and  found  herself  on 
the  top  of  a  tall  tree.  Her  clothing  and  her  gloves  were  almost 
worn  through  by  friction.  Then  she  shook  the  rope,  and  upon  this 
signal  her  sister  began  to  slide  down  in  the  same  manner.  She 
came  down  very  much  quicker,  because  her  sister  was  holding  the 
end  of  the  rope.  Looking  upward,  she  beheld  a  small  dot  in  the 
air.  It  was  coming  nearer  and  increased  in  size.  Soon  she  recog- 
nized her  sister,  who  finally  reached  the  top  of  the  tree.  There 
they  were  on  the  top  of  a  tall  spruce-tree,  and  there  was  no  way  of 
getting  down.  They  broke  off  some  branches,  and  made  a  bed  in 
the  tree.  The  elder  sister,  before  starting,  had  tied  an  additional 
piece  of  thong  around  her  waist,  thinking  that  she  might  use  it  in 
case  the  long  rope  should  not  have  reached  the  ground.  She  un- 
tied it,  and  fastened  it  on  to  the  long  rope,  but  still  it  was  not  long 
enough. 

After  a  while,  the  young  women  saw  a  number  of  men  passing 
the  foot  of  the  tree.  They  were  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and 
were  on  snowshoes.  They  recognized  the  wolf,  the  bear,  and  many 
other  animals.  They  called  to  them,  asking  them  to  help  them 
down,  but  they  passed  by  without  paying  attention  to  their  entreat- 
ies. The  next  morning  they  saw  another  man  approaching  the  tree. 
They  recognized  the  fisher.  They  called  him,  and  he  at  once  climbed 
the  tree.     The  young  women  asked  him  to  carry  them  down,  but  he 


■HS 


WW 


Traditions  of  the  Tsetsaut. 


41 


no  water, 
suffering 
ey  longed 
red  a  suf- 
to  escape. 
[ng  expcdi- 
o  one  end 
thong  was 
thus  they 
ought  the 
other  let 
liking  the 
Iiiddcn  by 
but  finally 
elt  that  it 
s  together, 
ir  suits  of 
The  elder 
ide  down, 
o,  and  the 
r.     Finally 
herself  on 
ere  almost 
1  upon  this 
nner.     She 
lolding  the 
dot  in  the 
she  rec og- 
ee.    There 
3  no  way  of 
e  a  bed  in 
additional 
t  use  it  in 
She  un- 
s  not  long 

en  passing 
.rrows,  and 
,  and  many 
help  them 
ir  entreat- 
g  the  tree, 
ce  climbed 
wn,  but  he 


demanded  that  they  should  first  marry  him.  The  elder  one  said : 
"  I  will  do  so,  but  first  carry  me  down."  The  fisher  finally  agreed 
and  carried  her  down.  When  they  arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  tree, 
she  demanded  from  him  that  he  should  first  carry  down  her  youngest 
sister.  Reluctantly  he  was  compelled  to  do  so.  Then  he  demanded 
from  the  youngest  sister  that  she  should  marry  him.  She  said  :  "  I 
will  do  so,  but  carry  me  down  first."  He  took  her  down.  When  he 
insisted  upon  his  former  demand,  the  elder  sister  said  :  "  We  are 
almost  starved  ;  first  bring  us  some  food."  He  went  away  and  soon 
returned,  carrying  a  bear  that  he  had  killed.  During  his  absenci 
the  young  women  had  lighted  a  fire.  He  wanted  to  roast  the  bear 
meat,  but  they  said  they  wished  to  eat  it  boiled.  Then  the  fisher 
made  a  basket  of  bark,  and  placed  stones  into  the  fire,  which  he 
intended  to  use  to  boil  water  in  the  basket.  Meanwhile  the  young 
women  had  hidden  a  few  pieces  of  meat  under  their  blankets,  and 
now  they  pretended  to  go  to  fetch  water  in  which  to  boil  the  meat. 
As  soon  as  they  were  out  of  sight  they  ran  away  down  the  moun- 
tains. After  a  while  the  eldest  sister  flung  a  piece  of  meat  at  a 
tree,  asking  it  to  whistle.  They  went  on,  and  again  she  threw  a 
piece  of  meat  at  a  tree,  asking  it  to  talk.  In  this  manner  she  con- 
tinued to  give  meat  to  all  the  trees. 

WHien  the  young  women  did  not  return,  the  fisher  followed  them 
to  the  brook,  where  they  had  gone  to  fetch  wciter.  He  discovered 
their  tracks,  and  saw  that  they  had  escaped.  He  pursued  them. 
Soon  he  came  to  the  tree  which  they  had  asked  to  whistle.  It  did 
so  when  the  fisher  went  past.  Then  he  thought  they  were  on  the 
tree,  climbed  it,  and  searched  for  them.  When  he  did  not  find 
them,  he  continued  his  pursuit.  He  came  to  the  second  tree,  which 
spoke  when  he  went  past.  Again  he  thought  the  young  women 
might  be  on  the  tree.  He  climbed  up,  but  did  not  find  them.  Thus 
he  lost  so  much  time  that  they  made  good  their  escape. 

Towards  evening  they  reached  a  deep  cafion.  They  walked  along 
its  edge,  and  soon  they  were  discovered  by  the  grizzly  bear,  v/ho  was 
residing  here.  He  wanted  to  marry  them,  and  they  did  not  dare  to  re- 
fuse. But  they  said  :  "  First  go  and  bring  us  something  to  eat.  We 
are  almost  starving."  While  the  bear  was  away  hunting,  the  girls  built 
a  platform  over  the  steep  precipice  of  the  canon.  It  overhung  the 
abyss,  and  was  held  in  place  by  two  ropes  which  were  tied  to  a  tree 
that  grew  near  the  edges  of  the  canon.  Its  outer  edge  was  supported 
by  two  slanting  poles  which  leaned  against  a  ledge  a  short  distance 
down  the  precipice.  When  the  bear  came  back,  he  found  them 
apparently  asleep  on  this  platform.  He  did  not  bring  any  meat ;  he 
had  only  roots  and  berries.  The  young  women  said  that  they  could 
not  eat  that  kind  of  food,  and  demanded  that  he  should  go  hunting 


23f{|r,8 


# 


yournal  of  American  Folk-Lorc. 


I 


ai^^ain.  It  had  ^Town  dark,  however,  and  the  bear  proposed  to  go 
out  on  the  following  morning.  They  lay  down  on  the  platform,  and 
the  young  women  indueed  the  bear  to  lie  near  the  edge,  while  they 
lay  down  near  the  tree  to  which  the  platform  was  tied.  They  kept 
away  from  the  bear,  promising  to  marry  him  after  he  should  have 
obtained  food  for  them.  ICarly  in  the  moiping,  when  the  grizzly 
bear  was  fast  asleep,  they  arose  without  disturbing  him,  cut  the  ties 
with  Which  the  platform  was  fastened  to  the  tree,  and  it  tipped  over, 
casting  the  bear  into  the  abyss. 

The  young  women  travelled  on,  and  for  a  whole  month  they  did 
not  fall  in  with  a  soul.  Then,  one  day,  they  discovered  tracks  of 
snowshoes,  and  soon  they  found  the  hut  of  a  woman  who  had  given 
birth  to  a  child.  They  entered,  and  recognized  one  of  their  friends. 
They  stayed  with  her  for  a  short  time,  and  when  the  young  mother 
was  ready  to  return  to  the  village,  they  sent  her  on  in  order  to  in- 
form their  relatives  of  their  return.  She  went  to  the  mother  of  the 
two  lost  girls,  and  told  her  that  they  were  waiting  in  the  woods,  but 
she  would  not  believe  the  news.  The  young  mother  returned  to  her 
friends  and  told  them  that  their  mother  would  not  believe  that  they 
had  come  back.  Then  they  gave  her  as  a  token  a  skin  hat  that  was 
decorated  with  stars.  She  took  it  to  the  village  and  showed  it  to  the 
mother  of  the  two  young  women.  Then  she  began  to  think  that 
there  might  be  some  truth  in  the  report,  and  went  out  to  look. 
There  she  saw  and  recognized  her  daughters.  At  that  time  all  the 
men  were  out  hunting.  The  women  on  hearing  of  the  return  of  the 
two  lost  girls  went  out  to  see  them,  and  they  told  of  their  adven- 
tures. Then  they  climbed  two  trees,  tied  their  skin  belts  to  the 
branches,  and  hanged  themselves. 

Note.  —  The  distribution  of  this  legend  over  North  America  is 
very  remarkable.  It  has  its  closest  analogue  in  a  tradition  of  the  Mic- 
mac  of  Nova  Scotia  (Rand,  "Legends  of  the  Micmac,"  pp.  i6o,  308). 
The  two  tales  are  almost  identical  up  to  the  passage  of  the  escape 
of  the  two  girls  from  the  animal  that  rescued  them  from  the  tree. 
The  first  part  of  the  tradition,  so  far  as  the  descent  of  the  young 
women  to  the  earth,  is  found  among  the  Songish  of  southern  Van- 
couver Island  (Boas,  /.  c.  p.  C2).  The  same  portion  of  the  tale, 
although  in  a  different  combination,  is  found  among  the  Dacota 
(Riggs,  "  Dacota  Grammar,  Texts,  and  Ethnography,"  Contributions 
to  North  American  Ethnology,  vol.  ix.  p.  90),  the  Otoe  ("Jour.  Am. 
Folk-Lore,"  1893,  p.  299,  recorded  by  G.  T.  Kercheval),  the  Pawnee 
(Ibid.  1894,  p.  197,  recorded  by  G.  V,.  Grinnell),  and  the  Kiowa, 
among  whom  it  was  recorded  by  A.  S.  Gatschet. 


i 


Jscd  to  go 

Itlorm,  and 

Ivhilo  they 

iTlicy  kept 

pould  have 

he  grizzly 

Jut  the  ties 

lipped  over, 

|h  they  did 
tracks  of 
had  given 
eir  friends, 
ng  mother 
rder  to  in- 
ther  of  the 
woods,  but 
rned  to  her 
'e  that  they 
at  that  was 
cd  it  to  the 
think  that 
)ut  to  look, 
time  all  the 
eturn  of  the 
heir  adven- 
aelts  to  the 


America  is 

of  the  Alic- 
).  1 60,  308). 

the  escape 
•m  the  tree. 

the  young 
ithern  Van- 
o(  the  tale, 

he  Dacota 
ntributions 
'Jour.  Am. 
;he  Pawnee 
:he  Kiowa, 


' 


Traditions  of  the  Tsetsaut. 


43 


13.    THE    liKAVKK    AND    THE    PORCUIMNE. 

Once  upon  a  time  the  Porcupine  was  on  a  small  island.  It  began 
to  rain  and  the  waters  began  to  rise,  so  that  it  was  cut  off  from 
retreat  to  the  mainland.  It  cried  and  sang  :  '•  I  wish  it  would  cease 
ruining  ;  I  wish  it  would  grow  cold  and  the  waters  would  freeze  over." 
(This  song  is  said  to  be  sung  in  both  the  Tlingit  and  the  Ts'r.ts'a'ut 
languages.)  Then  the  clouds  dispersed,  and  the  waters  began  to 
freeze  over.  The  Porcupine  succeeded  in  reaching  the  shore,  but  not 
without  difficulty,  since  the  ice  was  very  sli[>pery  The  Beaver  met 
it  and  said  :  "  You  must  stay  at  home  when  the  branches  of  the 
trees  are  covered  with  frost,  else  you  will  fall  down  and  break  your 
bones."  The  Porcupine  replied:  "Henceforth  you  shall  live  in 
rivers  and  in  lakes." 

Note.  —  This  is  a  very  imperfect  record  of  a  well-known  tradi- 
tion of  the  Tsimshian.  (I?oas,  /.  c.  p.  305  ;  Petitot,  /.  c.  p.  234,  col- 
lected among  the  Hare  Indians.)  The  fullest  record  of  this  tradi- 
tion was  obtained  on  Nass  River.  The  remark  of  the  Ts'Kts'ii'ut 
from  whom  I  obtained  the  talc,  to  the  effect  that  the  song  is  sung  in 
both  the  Tlingit  and  Ts'Ets'a'ut  languages,  seems  to  indicate  that  the 
tale  must  be  familiar  to  the  Tlingit  also. 

14.  tsufa'. 

Once  upon  a  time  two  young  men  went  hunting  porcupines.  They 
found  a  den  under  a  rock,  and  one  of  them  crawled  in.  While  they 
were  there  a  Tsufa'  came,  and  when  the  young  man  saw  him  he 
called  his  companion,  shouting:  "A  Tsufa'  is  coming."  But  the 
Tsufa'  did  not  kill  the  young  man.  He  pitied  him  and  made  friends 
with  him.  In  vain  he  tried  to  induce  the  young  man  who  had 
crawled  into  the  cave  to  come  out,  promising  to  adopt  him  and  help 
him  in  all  his  undertakings.  He  would  not  come.  Finally  the 
Tsufa'  grew  angry,  and  defecated  in  front  of  the  entrance  to  the  den, 
thus  imprisoning  the  young  man.    Pie  left  him  to  i)erish  in  the  cave. 

He  placed  the  other  one  on  his  head  and  carried  him  to  his  home. 
When  the  two  young  men  were  missed  by  their  »  :v,nds  and  parents, 
the  people  set  out  to  find  them,  but  a  fresh  snow  had  covered  their 
tracks  as  well  as  those  of  the  Tsufa'. 

The  giant  reached  a  frozen  lake  in  which  there  were  a  great  many 
beaver  dams.  There  he  stopped.  With  his  hands  he  scooped  up 
the  beaver  dams  and  shook  them,  so  that  all  the  beavers  dropped 
out.  Then  he  killed  them  by  filliping  them.  He  singed  them  over 
a  fire,  and  ate  them  when  they  were  done.  A  beaver  was  just  a 
mouthful  for  him.     The  young  man  ate  part  of  one  beaver  only. 


I 


44 


Journal  of  American  Folk- Lore. 


i    ! 


!^! 


After  he  had  eaten,  the  Tsufa'  lay  down.  He  had  discovered  a  num- 
ber of  elks  browsin^^  beyond  a  small  hill.  He  stretched  his  hand 
over  the  hill,  and  in  it  caught  three  elks,  which  he  squeezed  to  death. 
Then  he  broke  off  dry  limbs  of  trees,  and  made  a  large  fire,  at  which 
he  roasted  the  elks.  When  they  were  done  he  began  to  eat.  For 
him  an  elk  was  just  two  mouthfuls. 

On  the  following  day  he  travelled  on.  lie  came  to  another  lake, 
where  he  found  cariboos.     These  the  Tsufa'  killed. 

Deinde  progress!,  ad  magnum  domicilium  pervenerunt,  ubi  habita- 
bat  Tsufae  occisi  u.\or.  Du.v,  cum  in  possessionem  siccatae  carnis 
omnis  invasisset,  quae  ibi  condita  esset,  adulescenti  "Cuba  quaeso," 
inquit, "  cum  hac  muliere."  Is  primum  tinuiit ;  mo.x  autem  illi  cohor- 
tanti  paruit  abiitque  ex  oculis  in  mulicris  vaginam.  Quae  cum  a 
Tsufa  magna  voce  obsecraretur  nc  filium  ipsius  necaret,  c  strato  ex- 
siluit  atque  se  excussit  donee  adulcscens  ad  humum  delajisus  est. 
Tum  vero  Tsufa  i])se  cum  ea  cubuit.  Mentulam  aulem  suam 
propter  incredibilem  longitudinem  ita  ferebat  ut  corpus  ejus  bis 
amplexa  per  adversum  tergum  atque  etiam  super  humerum  por- 
reeta  esset.  Itaque  mulicrem,  cum  hac  transfigeret  ut  extrema  pars 
ex  ore  ejus  exstaret,  interfecit. 

Finally  the  young  man  longed  to  return  to  his  own  country.  The 
Tsufa'  made  a  staff  of  yellow  cedar,  which  was  to  show  him  the  way. 
Whenever  he  put  it  into  the  ground  it  would  turn  the  way  the  young 
man  had  to  go.  He  also  tolc'  him  that  the  staff  would  break  in 
twair  as  soon  as  he  died.  Then  they  parted.  The  young  man  fol- 
lowc  '  the  direction  the  staff  was  pointing,  and  after  long  wanderings 
rear  cd  his  home.  There  he  married.  He  placed  this  staff  under 
a  tr  After  two  years  the  staff  broke,  and  he  knew  that  his  friend 
was    cad. 

N  TE.  —  A  similar  tradition  see  in  "  Verhandlungen  Ges.  f.  An- 
thr.pologie,"  Berlin,  1888,  p.  404,  collected  among  the  Eskimo  of 
Baffin  Land. 

15.    THE   XUDELE. 

The  Xudele  are  cannibals.  They  are  very  lean.  Their  noses 
are  turned  up  and  their  eyebrows  run  upward.  Their  faces  look 
almost  like  those  of  dogs.  They  wear  small  axes  in  their  belts,  with 
which  they  kill  men.     They  take  the  scent  of  men  like  dogs. 

One  day  the  Xudclc  had  gone  hunting  man.  They  found  the  tracks 
of  a  hunter  who  was  on  the  mountains.  He  saw  them  coming,  and 
tried  to  escape.  When  he  came  near  a  snow-field  that  terminated 
abruptly  at  a  precipice,  he  cut  steps  into  it  and  climbed  down.  Half 
way  down  he  found  a  small  rock  shelter,  where  he  stayed.     He  re- 


I 


I 


I  ! 


^, 


num- 
luind 

Icalh. 

which 
I'or 

lake, 

abita- 


Tradi lions  of  the  T:ic,Saut. 


45 


solved  to  make  an  attempt  to  kill  his  pursuers  by  a  ruse.  lie  built 
a  fitc  and  roasted  a  porcupine  that  he  had  cau<;ht.  The  Xudcle  saw 
the  smoke  and  snielled  the  roasting  meat.  When  they  came  to  the 
snow-field  it  had  grown  dark.  They  shouted  down  :  "  Where  arc 
you?  Let  us  have  some  of  your  meat!"  The 'I's'i.ts'a'ut  shouted 
back  :  "  Vou  must  slide  d(nvn  this  snow-field,  then  you  will  find  me. 
I  invite  you  to  take  part  in  my  meal !  "  Then  the  Xudele  began  to 
slide  down  the  snow-field  one  after  the  other,  and  were  precipitated 
into  the  abyss,  h'inally  only  one  of  their  number  was  left.  He  did 
not  dare  to  slide  ilown,  and  shouted  :  •'  Where  are  all  my  friends.''" 
Tile  man  replied  :  "They  are  all  here."  But  the  XildCle  could  not 
be  induced  to  slide  down.  He  cut  steps  into  the  snow,  and  clindjcd 
down  a'  the  man  had  done.  Finally  he  reached  the  man.  When 
he  did  not  see  his  friends,  he  asked  what  had  become  of  them,  and 
the  man  told  him  that  they  had  all  perished  because  they  had  slid 
past  his  slicker.  Now  the  XudCic,  who  did  not  dare  to  attack  the 
man  single-handed,  offered  to  gamble  with  him,  and  said  they  would 
stake  their  lives.  The  Ts'cts'fi'ut  refused.  He  had  employed  the 
ame  while  the  Xudele  were  sliding  down  the  snow-ficUl  to  make  a 
heavy  club,  which  he  had  i)laced  near  his  fire.  While  he  was  talk- 
ing with  the  XfidCle  he  watched  his  opportunity,  and  slew  him  with 
his  club.  Then  he  returned  to  his  village  and  told  what  had  hap- 
pened. The  people  were  afraid  that  the  friends  of  the  Xudele 
mi,i;ht  come  to  look  for  them,  and  moved  to  another  place. 

At  another  time  a  man  had  gone  out  hunting.  It  was  in  summer. 
He  discovered  a  vast  number  of  Xudele  coming  right  up  to  him,  so 
that  he  could  not  escape.  There  happened  to  be  a  swamp  close  to 
the  trail  which  he  was  following.  He  jumped  into  the  mud  and  lay 
dov/n,  Icceping  motionless.  He  looked  just  like  a  log.  He  extended 
his  arms,  so  that  they  looked  like  limbs  of  a  tree.  The  XudCld 
came,  and  one  after  the  othe*  passed  him  without  noticing  him. 
V'inally,  one  of  their  number  noticed  the  resemblance  of  the  sup- 
posed log  to  a  human  figure.  He  raised  his  a.xe,  and  was  about  to 
strike  him.  13ut  since  the  man  did  not  wince,  he  concluded  that  it 
was  nothing  but  a  log  and  passed  on.  When  all  had  passed,  the 
man  jumped  up  and  ran  on  the  nearest  way  to  his  village.  There  he 
told  the  chief  that  the  Xudele  were  coming.  He  called  a  council, 
and  they  resolved  what  to  do.  They  killed  a  number  of  dogs  and 
cut  them  up,  skin  and  bone  and  intestines.  Then  they  pounded  flint 
to  dust,  mixed  it  with  the  meat,  and  made  a  soup  of  it.  W^hcn  the 
Xudele  ca.ic,  they  invited  them  to  the  chief's  house  and  set  the  soup 
before  them.  Before  they  began  eating,  a  little  boy  happened  to 
walk  past  a  XudCle,  who  seized  him,  tore  out  his  arms  and  legs,  and 
ate  him.     The  Ts'Ets'a'ut  did  not  dare  to  remonstrate.     Now  the 


46 


yournal  of  American  Folk-Lore. 


Xudele  began  to  eat.  Soon  the  effects  of  the  poison  —  the  pounded 
stone  —  began  to  be  felt.  They  acted  as  though  they  were  drunk, 
and  some  of  them  fell  dead.  Then  the  Ts'Ets'a'ut  took  up  their 
clubs  and  killed  them  one  and  all. 


stick  of 
man,  he 
for  me." 


The  XudOle  put  up  traps  for  catching  men  on  the  trails  which 
they  travel  on  their  snowshoes.  They  cover  a  stick  with  moss  and 
snow,  which  is  so  arranged  that  it  catches  in  the  snowshoe  of  the 
traveller.  A  few  feet-  in  front  of  this  stick  is  another,  sharp-pointed 
stick,  put  into  the  ground  point  upward.  When  the  snowshoes 
catch  in  the  first  stick,  the  traveller  falls  forward  on  to  the  pointed 
stick,  w'i  h  pierces  him.  One  day  a  hunter  was  passing  over  a 
trail.  He  saw  a  small  irregularity  of  the  snow,  and  discovered  that  it 
was  the  trap  of  a  Xudele.  He  intended  to  go  on,  when  he  saw  the 
Xudele  to  whom  the  trap  belonged.  As  he  was  unable  to  make  his 
escape,  he  tried  a  stratagem.  He  struck  his  nose  so  that  it  bled  and 
smeared  his  chest  with  blood.  Then  he  lay  down  on  the  pointed 
the  trap.  The  Xudele  approached,  and  when  he  saw  the 
smiled  and  said  :  "  Again  my  trap  has  caught  something 
He  took  the  man  off  the  stick,  put  him  into  his  bag,  and, 
after  having  reset  his  trap,  turned  to  go  home.  The  man  was  very- 
heavy,  and  he  had  to  put  down  his  load  from  time  to  time.  Then 
the  man  blew  the  air  out  of  his  compressed  lips,  thus  imitating  the 
noise  of  escaping  gases.  The  Xudele  said  :  "  He  must  have  been 
in  my  trap  for  a  long  time,  for  the  body  is  decomposing  already ;  the 
gases  are  escaping."  When  he  arrived  at  home  he  threw  the  body 
down  near  the  fireplace.  The  man  glanced  around  furtively,  and, 
saw  stores  of  dried  human  flesh  in  the  house.  There  was  a  black 
woman  in  the  house,  and  three  children  were  playing  near  the  fire. 
The  Xudele  went  to  fetch  his  knife  in  order  to  skin  and  carve  the 
man,  and  he  sent  his  wife  for  water.  The  man  saw  an  axe  lying 
near  the  fire,  and  when  the  Xudele  turned  his  back  he  jumped  up, 
seized  it,  and  split  the  head  of  his  captor.  The  Xudele  cried  : 
"Sxinadle,  asidle,"  and  died.  (It  is  said  that  the  Xudele  always 
utter  this  cry,  which  is  unintelligible  to  the  Ts'Ets'a'ut,  at  the  time 
of  their  death.)  When  the  children  saw  their  father  dying  they  ran 
out  of  aie  house,  assumed  the  shape  of  martens,  and  ran  up  a  tree. 
The  man  threw  the  body  of  the  Xudele  into  the  fire.  Then  he  went 
out  of  the  hut  to  kill  the  woman,  whom  he  met  carrying  a  basket  of 
water.  He  split  her  stomach  with  his  axe.  Then  two  minks  jumped 
out  of  her  and  ran  into  the  water.  She  died  and  he  burnt  her 
body.  When  he  returned  to  his  country  he  told  what  he  had  seen. 
Therefore  we  know  that  the  martens  and  minks  descend  from  the 
Xudele. 


Traditions  of  the  Tsctsaiit. 


47 


Note.  —  I  do  not  know  of  any  Athapaskan  legend  resembling  the 
present  in  detail,  but  in  the  collection  of  traditions  published  by 
Petitot  beings  half  dog  and  half  man  play  a  very  important  part. 
They  are  described  as  having  the  faculty  of  taking  the  scent  of  man 
in  the  same  manner  as  the  Xudele.  Similar  tales  may  be  found 
among  all  the  Eskimo  tribes,  who  call  the  fabulous  inlanders,  who 
arc  half  dog,  half  men,  Adla  or  Eqigdlit. 

1 6.    ALAMA    TSAT'a    d'agX. 

In  the  beginning  there  were  no  mountain  goats.  The  first  man 
to  discover  them  was  ALama.  One  day  he  went  up  the  mountains 
and  found  a  cave  full  of  goats.  When  it  grew  dark  he  put  a  snare 
in  the  entrance  of  the  cave  and  hid  himself  near  by.  As  soon  as  a 
goat  came  out  it  was  caught  in  the  snare.  He  killed  two.  He  tied 
the  one  around  his  waist,  the  other  one  on  his  back.  Thus  he  car- 
ried them  home.  Therefore  he  was  called  aLama  tsat'a  d'aga,  or 
ALama  amongst  the  mountain  goats. 

17.  adada',  .  . 

Two  men  and  one  woman  went  in  their  canoe  to  Nek'Chudja' 
(Boca  de  Quadra })  to  dry  salmon.  One  day  the  woman  crossed  the 
lake  to  gather  berries.  When  she  did  not  return  in  the  evening, 
the  men  thought  she  might  have  been  captured  by  the  Haida.  But 
in  the  evening,  when  passing  a  steep  rock,  they  saw  an  Adada'  com- 
in"-  out,  and  knew  at  once  that  he  had  devoured  the  woman  when 
she  was  crossing  the  lake.  He  looked  like  a  giant.  They  resolved 
to  kill  the  monster.  They  called  the  other  men  of  the  village  to 
help  them,  and  they  cut  a  number  of  young  hemlock-trees  and  sharp- 
ened both  ends.  Thus  they  made  three  boat-loads  of  sharp  poles. 
They  carried  their  canoe  up  to  the  top  of  the  rock  under  which  the 
monster  lived.  Then  they  let  't  down  to  the  water  by  means  of 
two  stout  cedar-bark  ropes.  After  a  while  the  water  began  to  swell 
and  to  form  a  deep  whirlpool.  The  Adada'  was  drinking.  Then 
they  dropped  the  sharp  poles  into  the  whirlpool,  in  which  they  dis- 
appca-ed.  After  a  while  the  water  began  to  grow  calmer,  and 
finally  the  whirlpool  disappeared.  The  Adada'  came  up  and  drifted 
on  the  water.  The  poles  had  pierced  his  stomach  and  his  intestines. 
His  hair  was  blue,  and  his  skin  like  that  of  a  man.  The  men  let 
the  canoe  down  to  the  lake,  paddled  up  to  the  body,  which  they 
chopped  up  with  their  hatchets. .  It  was  as  large  as  a  house.  In  its 
stomach  they  found  the  canoe  in  which  the  woman  had  gone  out. 
The  woman  was  still  in  it,  but  she  was  dead. 

Above  Atxaye'  is  a  lake,  Niigufcga'.      A  steep  precipice  falls 


di 


48 


yournal  of  American  Folk-Lore 


down  toward  the  water.  Below  it  lived  the  monster  Adada'.  Once 
upon  a  time  in  winter,  many  men  went  up  lo  the  lake.  On  the  ice 
they  saw  an  animal  that  looked  like  a  huge  porcupine  ;  but  when 
they  came  nearer  they  saw  that  its  skin  was  smooth,  and  that  it  had 
a  mouth  like  that  of  a  mouse.  They  approached  it  cautiously,  and 
found  that  it  was  dead.  Its  skin  was  quite  blue.  Tho  people  were 
afraid  of  it,  and  left  the  place.  After  a  few  days  another  party  of 
men  passed  the  lake.     They  also  saw  the  animal. 

Later  on,  a  man  and  his  son  passed  the  lake  on  their  way  up  the 
mountains.  They  were  going  to  hunt  marmots.  They  set  their 
traps  on  a  steep  mountain  near  the  lake.  It  was  a  hot,  sunny  day. 
All  of  a  sudden  they  saw  the  waters  rising,  and  a  huge  monster 
emerged  from  the  waters.  It  looked  like  a  man.  It  rose  up  to  its 
waist.  Its  head  was  as  large  as  a  hut.  Its  hair  was  blue  and  drifted 
on  the  surface  of  the  water.  It  was  more  than  three  fathoms  long. 
The  men  kept  hidden  behind  a  rock.  When  the  sun  set,  the  mon- 
ster dived  and  disappeared  under  the  rock,  where  it  lived  in  a  cave. 

1 8.    THE   METEOR  (.'). 

A  long  time  ago,  a  fire  was  seen  to  approach  through  the  air  from 
the  north.  It  looked  like  a  huge  animal.  Its  face  was  fire.  Fire 
came  from  its  mouth  and  from  its  back.  Flames  of  fire  also  shot 
from  its  paws.  It  passed  thundering  through  the  air,  moving  back- 
ward. In  former  times  we  were  often  visited  by  these  monsters, 
but  they  have  not  been  seen  for  a  long  time. 

19.    THE    FISHER. 

The  fishers  are  always  trying  to  kill  people.  They  appear  to 
hunters  in  the  shape  of  pretty  girls.  They  have  a  very  nice  smell. 
They  try  to  seduce  men.  If  they  succeed  the  man  must  die.  They 
also  try  to  kill  girls  and  women  who  go  out  picking  berries.  They 
appear  to  them  in  the  shape  of  good-looking  and  sweet-smelling 
men.     If  they  succeed  in  seducing  the  girls,  these  must  die. 

I  was  also  told  that  before  our  times  the  country  was  inhabited  first 
by  the  ts'ak'e',  who  wore  marmot-skins ;  later  on,  by  the  futvud'id', 
who  wore  bear-skins.  Both  were  said  to  have  spoken  the  Ts'Ets'a'ut 
language,  and  it  is  not  quite  clear  to  my  mind  if  the  narrator  did 
not  want  to  tell  me  that  his  ancestors  wore  garments  of  this  kind. 
He  also  told  me  a  story  of  the  encounter  of  a  Tlingit  with  the 
land-otter  people,  which  I  do  not  tell  here  because  it  is  evidently 
simply  a  Tlingit  story  of  an  encounter  with  the  kushtaka,  or  land- 
otter  people. 

Franz  Boas. 


vv 


■^^mm 


mm 


m 


li  .     ii 


